marginlands
Marginlands

Publisher: Pan Macmillan IndiaAuthor: Arati Kumar-Rao In the boundless Thar, deemed a ‘wasteland’ by the authorities, miners bulldoze sand dunes guarding life-sustaining water. The Gangetic dolphin, once a thriving apex predator, struggles for survival as its riverine habitat is fragmented by dams and roiled by incessant shipping. Deep in the mangrove forests of the Sunderban, tigers prey on desperate crab-catchers.…

Pugmarks and Carbon footprints
Pugmarks and Carbon Footprints

Publisher: PenguinAuthor: Rohan Chakravarty Pugmarks and Carbon Footprints is a collection of gag cartoons and comic strips based exclusively on wildlife and nature. Staying true to their theme, the cartoons and comics in the book will speak about wildlife, ecology, interesting trivia about the lives of wild animals, and how the lives of these creatures are entwined with ours. Other than…

Living Air featured
Flying High

Reviewed by Zai Whitaker Once in a while a spectacular natural history book comes along, and The Living Air: The Pleasures of Birds and Birdwatching is one of them. Aasheesh Pittie is in that category of ornithologists who are also good writers; who have not only seen the rare Jerdon’s Courser but describe the incident in a way that makes…

Tiger Collage Feature new
Big Cats in a Big Bad World

By JoAnne Saldanha With inputs from Meghaa Gupta Out of the 38 cat species across the planet, only six have the distinction of being called ‘big cats’: lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, jaguars and cheetahs. While they may look like oversized kitty cats, one of the main differences, other than size, between big cats and their smaller cousins is the…

Every creature - featured
Science Sans the Story

Except for an essay on the poisoners of the living world, the nightshade plant, the other essays are non-vegetarian, so to speak. By and large, the critters are of a size that wouldn’t require a microscope to see them. They can slither, bite, sting, trumpet, dash, bark and swim. The essays aren’t organized in any particular order. The chapter titles…

Raising Awareness of Chemical Pollutants in Everyday Products

About Me My name is Tejas Kannan. I’m a 16-year-old, Grade 11 student from Texas, USA. I am passionate about raising awareness among young people about protecting the environment, particularly from harmful chemicals found in everyday products. What Are You Doing? I’ve established website called Product Insight that is dedicated to shedding light on the harmful effects of chemicals in…

Children book collage feature
Delving Beneath the Surface: Mining in Indian Children’s Books

By Archana Natraj India is the world’s second-largest coal producer and a major producer of bauxite, iron, and zinc ore. Extracting these ores offers significant economic benefits, but it comes at a cost – land-use change, deforestation, erosion, contamination of wetlands and carbon emission that affect the environment, the livelihood and social fabric of local communities. The coal and lignite…

the wildings featured
Cat-calls of The Best Kind!

By Meghaa Gupta The wildings (stray cats) of Nizamuddin are in a frenzy. An unknown cat is invading their minds with its thoughts… Mara is scared, put me down! Where did my mother go? Where are you taking me? Don’t want to leave the drainpipe! You’re frightening Mara… It needs to be silenced, once and for all. Except, this intruder…